Aging lookout towers still key during fire season in US West

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Fire-lookout towers perched atop remote, craggy peaks across the U.S. West may seem like quaint reminders of an era before satellites, smartphones and jet-propelled air tankers.

Indeed, some of the structures are more than 100 years old. But with their lofty views and good old-fashioned human observation, fire lookouts play a crucial role in the nation's front-line efforts to stop wildfires.

"The biggest piece of this puzzle is to keep fires small," said Kassidy Kern, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman based in Oregon's Deschutes National Forest. "And the way to do that...